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Writer's picturePaul Wright

Mother found dead after paramedics gave her the all clear


A young mother was found dead at home hours after paramedics had given her the all clear, her family have revealed.

Lauren Page Smith, 29, was found at her house in Wolverhampton by her mother in January, lying on the floor with her two-year-old daughter on her chest. The toddler had tried to wake her up. Lauren's family claim that she had complained of chest pains and vomiting. Her mother Emma Carrington believes paramedics did not take the concerning condition of her daughter seriously. 'We believe that because of her age and the fact that she was calm the paramedics did not think she could be as ill as she was, she did not get the care she needed,' she said. 'There are simply no words to describe how we feel as a family. Through no fault of her own my daughter does not have a future and my granddaughter will grow up never knowing her mother.' She added: 'Lauren had her whole life in front of her and that has been taken away.' A post-mortem found that Smith died from a sudden heart attack after a blood clot in her lung. An inquest will take place at the Black Country Coroners' Court on November 1. Lauren had called 111 for advice and paramedics who arrived at her home performed brief assessments. Law firm FBC Manby Bowdler, who are representing the Smith family, said they were concerned West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedics misinterpreted Lauren's electrocardiogram (ECG) readings due to a lack of training and told her she was fine instead of taking her to hospital. The ambulance service's investigation found clinicians felt 'falsely reassured' that Lauren's condition was 'not overly concerning' because of how old she was and that she appeared to be fine. Her calm demeanour meant that medical staff did not believe the pain score she gave them, the report found. A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'We would like to apologise to the family of Lauren Smith after what must have been an extremely difficult period. 'The Trust carried out a full investigation into what happened to see what learning could be taken from such a tragic case. We are determined to do everything possible to try and stop something like this ever happening again. 'The review made a number of recommendations which have been implemented, including providing additional learning to our clinicians about recognising acute coronary syndrome (ACS), particularly in women. 'We hope that the inquest will answer all of the questions that the family have about this case.' Earlier this year, it was revealed that a diabetic woman died after waiting over 16 hours for the West Midlands Ambulance Service, despite her emergency meaning that she required an ambulance in 18 minutes. Earlier this month, a patient was reportedly declared dead by paramedics but 'woke up' in hospital just hours later. The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has issued an apology and started an investigation.

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